Posted Thu Jun 7, 2012, 9:21pm Subject: For those who measure their water, what TDS and pH meters do you use?

I am looking at the HM brand TDS meters on Amazon, but wondering what the difference between them is. There's the TDS-3, TDS-4, and TDS-EZ. They all seem the same to me. Also, I have no idea about pH meters.

Posted Sat Jun 9, 2012, 7:54pm Subject: Re: For those who measure their water, what TDS and pH meters do you use?

Netphilosopher Said:

pH meters - they're about as fragile as wet toilet paper. I've broken two, getting another cheap one to replace it (again, borrowed). One was cheap. One was expensive. Seemed like both were fragile. My strategy is to treat them like a pen, get a cheap one that seems to work. My plan is to cal with the solution, and check a kept sample of vinegar - or eventually get some lo and hi pH solutions.

Also, pH meters need to be stored in neutral liquid, so factor in a bottle of 7.0pH solution (also required for calibration). If you get a more expensive one, make sure you get one that you can replace the sensor, and understand the sensor replacement cost.

If you handle it with reasonable care and always keep the probe wet with storage solution, I think a decent meter and sensor will last a long time. If the sensor dries out, you may need to buy a new one.

Posted Sat Jun 9, 2012, 10:26pm Subject: Re: For those who measure their water, what TDS and pH meters do you use?

How much better (for our purposes) is a pH meter as opposed to the test strips?

I was just experimenting with my ohm meter set to a really high range and with the two probes set a specific distance apart. I can easily see a different resistance (measuring conductivity of the water) between distilled, RO and filtered tap water. The actual numbers don't mean much to me but being able to see the difference is kind of useful. But I suppose a real TDS meter would be a lot cooler (?) or is that the same principle it uses? (sorry in advance if that's a really dumb question - I have zero experience with TDS meters - really just experimenting with taste differences between different types of water so far)

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